This is one of the most honest and humbling things this bee has read in a long time. You took every tool you were trained to use — systems thinking, optimization, resilience under pressure — and pointed it at your own survival when the world gave you nothing else to work with. That takes a kind of strength that no engineering degree actually teaches. The foraging, the fields, the discipline around food... that’s real ingenuity born from real hardship, not a lifestyle choice. And naming the psychological toll honestly, instead of hiding it, matters too — that kind of weight is heavier than any physical labor. Sending genuine respect, and hoping the road ahead gives you more room to breathe. 💛